Chivas USA and Chivas Guadalajara play to 3-3 draw

Chivas USA and sister club Chivas Guadalajara played to a 3-3 draw Wednesday evening at Ciudad Juarez’s Estadio Olimpico in a match that featured two penalty kicks and two lead changes. Guadalajara went up by two scores within the friendly’s first 21 minutes on goals by Jesus Sanchez and Luis Morales. The Rebaño Angelino stormed back with three scores to take the lead in the second half on scores from Giovani Casillas, Jose Correa and Julio Morales. In the 86th minute, Guadalajara’s Erik Torres equalized the match for good by knocking in the match’s second penalty kick. A portion of the proceeds from the match will go toward EDUCARE, an education institute in Ciudad Juarez that builds hope for one of that city’s most marginalized and violence-stricken communities.

• Chivas USA had several dangerous looks at goal, the first coming at the 3rd minute with Laurent Courtois attacking from the left side, who passed it off to Casillas who then crossed the ball to Marky Delgado, but the midfielder was not able to finish the play.

• Chivas Guadalajara pushed its lines forward and created several goal opportunities of their own. At the 12th minute, Jorge “Chaton” Enriquez attacked through the middle of the field and passed to forward Rafael Marquez Lugo, who left Chivas USA’s defenders behind and faced Tim Melia on a one-on-one. But Melia blocked Marquez Lugo’s shot and keep the match scoreless.

• A minute later, Marquez Lugo again had what looked to be a dangerous opportunity, but this time Steven Purdy-Ramos blocked the forward’s shot and cleared the area. Chivas Guadalajara generated another threat in the 14th minute with Luis Perez attacking from the right side of the field, who crossed a ball that Marquez Lugo controlled, but Purdy-Ramos again blocked his shot to save the Rebaño Angelino.

• In the 18th minute, Sanchez received a ball outside the box, and saw that Melia had come far off his line and past the short area. Sanchez then chipped his shot over the Red-and-White goalkeeper to open up the scoring.

• Chivas Guadalajara’s attack was relentless, and three minutes later, Sergio Perez, attacking from the right side, crossed to Morales who brought it down with his chest, faced Melia one-on-one, and fired his shot inside the left post for the 2-0 advantage.

• Chivas USA pushed its lines forward looking to score and in the 23rd minute Miller Bolaños, attacking from the left wing, sent a cross looking for Morales inside the box, but the forward was late to arrive and missed the opportunity. A minute later, Delgado, attacking from the right wing, placed the ball inside the box, where Casillas was waiting to finish the play, but Guadalajara’s defense deflected the shot.

• Melia came up with a big save in the 30th minute when Guadalajara forward Miguel Sabah worked the ball up the middle and passed it off to Marquez Lugo who was left in a one-on-one with Melia. The netminder came off his line and blocked the shot to keep the Rebaño Angelino in the match.

• Chivas USA cut the lead to 2-1 in the 38th minute when Delgado worked the ball on the right wing and into the box. Delgado then crossed to Casillas who controlled the ball between two defenders, faced goalkeeper Luis Michel, and placed his shot inside the left post and into the net.

• After several substitutions from both squads in the second half, Chivas USA midfielder Eric Avila made an individual play inside the box, where he was fouled and the referee awarded a penalty kick in favor of his side. Correa, who entered as a sub in the second half, cashed in the PK, placing his shot to the right of substitute goalkeeper Jose Antonio Rodriguez to even the score at two in the 56th minute.

• With the score tied, Chivas USA looked to for opportunities to go ahead. Sub Josue Soto, attacking from the middle of the field, found Morales inside the box with a pass. Morales turned and worked the ball to face Rodriguez and placed his shot to the back of the net with a left-footed strike to take a 3-2 lead in the 76th minute.

• As the final minutes of regulation ticked away, Chivas USA continued to move the ball into its attacking third, but Chivas Guadalajara took control of ball possession in the final minutes of the game. Guadalajara got numbers into to the Rebaño Angelino’s box, and the defensive line was called for a foul. The referee awarded the penalty kick on the play in favor of Guadalajara, and “El Cubo” Torres cashed in the score for the 3-3 result in the 86th minute.